Before, during Kanaan soundcheck

Almost three years to the day since I was last in Norway for Høstsabbat. Some things are different, some are not. I slept almost the entire flight. Blessed by Apollo (or whoever) with an empty seat next to me in a two-person row, I was able to lie down if not stretch out, and that second airline pillow is key.

I remembered to go to the right at Oslo airport to get to the trains even before I saw the sign not quite screaming in my face to do so, and got into town with enough time to crash for another hour before showering and trying to make myself look human enough to be in public for a while. One does one’s best, anyhow. We must acknowledge some causes long since lost. I’ve always thought of myself as more bridge than cave troll, but even that’s perhaps more romantic than “doughy suburban dad.”

In any case, people are busily busying themselves with busy-looking stuff. Laptops are out. I got told to remove my ass from the balcony a brief moment after taking a picture of the church itself — the venue,  Kulturkirken Jacob, is an old church repurposed as an arts/performance space, which is about the best fate one could ever hope for concerning a religious institution — so came downstairs to write, get more coffee and see who’s where. I have a press pass, so I think I can wander a bit. With an hour and a half till showtime, I should probably do that.

My expectations are high here based on prior experience with Høstsabbat, but more than anything I am humbled to be here at all among these incredible people and the likewise incredible event they’re about to make happen. One hopes to stay out of the way, will likely fail. Fair enough.

Kanaan just started playing full volume. Only for a minute, but it was a welcome reminder: Everything’s going to be okay once the music starts. One more coffee before then, maybe.

HØSTSABBAT 2022 NIGHT ONE

Kanaan

Says something that even as Oslo’s own Kanaan celebrate their 2021 Earthbound (review here) LP by performing it in full, they’ve got two newer works out there as well in the 27-minute piece “Beyond” included on a four-way split through Worst Bassist Records and the forthcoming album, Diversions Vol. I: Softly Through Sunshine on Jansen. They are ascendant as well as prolific, each outing offering something new or at least a broadened take on what came before. I feel like I have a better understanding having seen them live, even if a full-album set isn’t the most representative of their work on the whole, their range was by no means absent from that material, however terrestrial it may be on relative terms. Drums, guitar/bass/synth, and guitar all in a line near the front of the stage, Kanaan pulled a packed house early crowd and the audience clearly were not showing up by happenstance. All hall the next generation. Capital-‘h’ Heavy needs this turnover to happen desperately in the next few years, and if Kanaan are among the vanguard for it, so much the better for the intricacy of what they play and the obvious heart with which they play it. They killed and sound like they’re only getting better. Now I get to say both I’ve seen them and that I ‘prefer the live version’ of Earthbound. Ultimate snobbery.

Kosmik Boogie Tribe

My camera fell out of my bag before their set. Full height, cosmic backpack betrayal. Imagine seeing the nicest thing you own bounce off a cement floor. I said a very loud, very much in English “fuck!” but it turned out okay. Might be time for a new camera bag, but will be extra careful in the meantime. Fortunately Kosmik Boogie Tribe were a salve for such concerns, blowing the dust off soul and floor alike with their classic, somehow punk-ish heavy rock and roll. This was riffs, beer, maybe the odd bit of what they call ‘flower’ now that it’s legal where I live. Good vibes, high energy, and no screwing around despite all the screwing around. Aside from my relief and not, you know, needing a new camera, I was pulled in by Kosmik Boogie Tribe’s infectious energy and shut-up-and-go, 1-2-3-4-play verve. Rock and roll can be an outright blast when you do it right. I was only passingly familiar before, so relished the chance to see them open in the crypt, which was immediately full. I hate to think of Høstsabbat outgrowing that space — they say to show up early, and I did — but they had a line of people waiting to get into the space in front of the not-quite-a-stage, and reasonably so. It was packed in there. Better show up early next time too. Kosmik Boogie Tribe had a couple live LPs for sale, and seemed well on board for sonic shenanigans, leaving me with the best kind of homework to do later on.

Needlepoint

I suppose it would be too unsuitable to their ultra-mellow, vibe-minded style to say Needlepoint made waves with 2021’s Walking Up That Valley (review here). Gentle waves, then, to coincide with the melodies with which they and you while listening seem to be taking a casual pleasant stroll that then turns into the kind of conversation about life that changes the way you think, ever so slightly, but more than you realize. I would be willing to bet actual kroner that every single guy in this band was at some point the best player in another band. They’re technical enough to be a showcase, but that melody highlights an utter disinterest in that particular kind of indulgence. Instead, Needlepoint, who are from here, focus on the organic,  a kind of particularly Scandinavian folk moving in along with the jazzy drums, smooth, smooth, smooth basslines and interweaving progressions of keys/organ and finger-plucked guitar, Bjørn Klakegg’s likewise soft vocal delivery reinforcing the intent without over-selling it or coming across as hackneyed. I went upstairs to the balcony to watch the full set and they were done before I even knew it was time. Bonus kudos, as the dudes from Kanaan were down the front the whole set. One can only imagine the drummer-chat that will ensue likely a respectable amount of time after Needlepoint’s gear is off stage. These guys are classy, no need to bother immediately.

U-FOES

I must’ve listened to U-FOES before but could not tell you when. In any case, their noise, sludge-more-in-tone-than-mindset take on hardcore-bred riffing was a hilarious enough contrast to Needlepoint immediately prior that it felt like everyone was in on the gag, which is how it should be if you’re going to do that kind of thing. I didn’t stay long, wanted to grab more coffee, check in at home, etc., but I could hear them through the floor up in the chapel a few minutes later and they sounded duly caustic. Hey, I’m from the Northeastern corridor of the United States, ergo, it’s not my first time hearing hardcore and metal and sludge get slammed together for the sake of aural and artistic release, and while they weren’t really my thing, rest assured that’s on me, not them. Dressed all in white with strobe a-plenty for lighting, they balanced a raw sound of guitar, drums, vocals against a markedly severe atmosphere and hit into some hard grooves along the way.

The Moth Gatherer

Stockholm’s The Moth Gatherer had me by the time they were halfway into “The Drone Kingdom” from 2019’s Esoteric Oppression, and that opened the set. Best bit of post-metal I’ve seen on this stage since Amenra, and I remembered seeing The Moth Gatherer here in 2018 (review here), the difference between that set and this one is this time they were upstairs and absolutely owned the room. Barking vocals, undulating nod, atmospheric sludge-style riffing, lurch, immersion, the whole nine. Some clean vocals changed things up fluidly, but the lesson learned is that clearly I should go back an album or two and give them another shot. Not too many surprises — and to be fair, they’re not really playing to a style that offers them once you know what you’re looking for, but their stage presence was unquestionable and they found a place between the destructive and restorative that made them hypnotic to watch even before the video projections or strobe effects were factored in. Høstsabbat has expanded enough that it’s impossible to see all of it — that’s freeing, in a way, since one feels less obliged to do so — but I felt no doubt in watching The Moth Gatherer that I was at the right place at the right time.

Orkan

Jetlag and boogie do not historically mix, but Orkan are infectious just the same. With the Swedish five-piece taking the floor in the Crypt, Høstsabbat enters the sax-inclusive portion of the evening, and Orkan put theirs to good use, incorporating the brass as part of their classic-heavy-derived sound while leaving room for the dual guitars and the harmony-prone, just-about-everybody-sings-at-one-point-or-another vocal arrangements. Zero complaints whatsoever, except perhaps the lack of room with the crowd press behind me to give their songs the softshoe they deserved. Also I did something to my knee, because I am old. The point is that Orkan, who were had all the ’70s in their sound you could possibly ask for without actually being 70 years old, were a band I’d probably just about never get to see, and that’s worth cherishing, softshoe or no. I scuttled off to the side of the room and sat for a few, just kind of taking in that vibe, and as with everything else I saw at Høstsabbat night one, they were united to the rest of the lineup by a broadly-defined sense of what makes music heavy. In this case, it was their ability to make their sound move, and to make it fun. They seemed pretty serious about what they were doing, but loosened up as they went on, and sure enough, it was a party.

REZN

I’ve written a fair amount about Chicago’s REZN, and as soon as I hammer out the liner notes for their upcoming PostWax collaboration with Vinnum Sabbathi from Mexico I’ll have written more, but I don’t think I ever really got it until seeing them play. They hit the Chapel stage with little to no ceremony and set about unfolding a droney, psychedelic reach that felt like it was going for miles — kilometers, if you’d rather. Peppered with sac and synth, further distinguished by soft-delivered soulful vocals that brought an entirely serene spirit to even the heaviest moments, they were powerful in the sense of making air move from and around amps, but there’s just so much to hear in their sound. Sometimes it’s Dead Meadow offset by Chicagoan post-metallic crunch, and sometimes it’s the bounce and melodymaking of Mars Red Sky with synth filling out what might otherwise be empty spaces in the sound, but any angle you want to take, their set was gorgeous and I feel like I better appreciate what they do having witnessed it in person; a clarification of who they are on record and a singular impression on the day. I went up and watched from the balcony and as they mood-drenched the whole church. Preach, dudes. They just announced a new record, too. I won’t say I wasn’t looking forward to it before, but only more so now.

MoE

They were awesome. Signed to the fest-associated Vinter Records label — see also Norna tomorrow — MoE, just to be clear, have nothing to do with the US jam band of the same name. They’re homegrown Norwegian, and with killer art-rock-via-Melvins-crunch, they were indeed a wondrous abomination to behold. The room was packed well in advance of their start. Between the push — all these humans — and the fact that if I hung out there much longer I was going to topple over the stage monitor, which would help nothing, I backed out quick and with not much mercy or apology. I guess you get to a certain point in the evening and there you go. I sort of hobbled to the back and stayed there for a while, the dual-vocal all-onslaught lumbering like a reminder that, yes, Indian were soon enough to go on upstairs. Another stark shift in style to suit the theme of the day of Høstsabbat gleefully refusing to only be one thing. MoE actually made the point pretty well, since they too were unhindered by whatever self-imposed rules might’ve otherwise held them back. Oh, and also? They were fucking loud. Don’t mistake me — everyone’s been loud. Needlepoint were loud. This was another kind of loud though. Your-earplugs-mean-nothing loud. Brutal without the death. Today was Bandcamp Friday. Next one I know where to put some money.

Indian

There are very few bands who are able to sound so specifically violent. Never mind the fact that they seem not so much to play their songs as to punch them, the scathing guitar noise, visceral screams and each and every crash-and-kick-drum combo hit all feel more like punishment than just about anyone else I can think of in any genre. They’re an emdgame for this thing that they do. There could not be anyone more extreme without it losing something from one side or another. Playing under plain white light that they demanded be brighter before starting, the Chicago four-piece set immediately about physically punishing the crowd and themselves alike with their music, an act of apparently empty catharsis otherwise surely they would’ve stopped by now. They are a tonal force, but it’s not even that, or the feedback, or the screaming or the floor took echoing through the church hall like it’s beating out a march to slaughter, it’s the way in which all of it bus so overwhelming as to trigger this fight or flight panic, like you either need to protect yourself from it or get the fuck out. I’ve seen a lot of bands. A stupid number; I couldn’t even guess. But Indian are their own nightmare. There’s blood and sharp things and I think someone’s crying somewhere? You’ll remember it when you wake up. An infliction of a band and more. Fuck it. None nastier.

—

More pics after the jump.

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Obviously, Årabrot are the ‘big name’ here, but I’d like to go ahead and draw your attention to Norwegian progressive rockers Needlepoint, also announced for Høstsabbat 2022 in this past week’s round of daily updates. Stickman Records early in 2021 released that band’s Walking Up That Valley (review here) LP, and yeah, it’s the kind of record that, if you were putting together a festival to take place the better part of two years after it’s out, you might still want the band to play. Of course, it’s entirely possible Needlepoint will have a new album out by then — I’ve heard nothing, know nothing, as ever — but the point stands.

Also, for anyone looking for outright crush, there’s Bismarck, who offer it aplenty, and you can also see Høstsabbat expanding its reach here with Agabas and VSÆVSM, whose abbreviated name I won’t even attempt to pronounce, let alone the full thing, which I won’t even attempt to cut and paste. It is important to know your own limits. Anyhow, if you’ve got a quota for “out there” with your crush and your prog and your whatever Årabrot are, consider it met.

Tickets are on sale as of this past Friday, as the fest reaffirmed on socials:

HØSTSABBAT 2022 – TICKETS ON SALE

Finally, festival passes for Høstsabbat 2022 are out!

Tap the ticket link below and grab them while you can.
https://bit.ly/HS-festivalpass

‘VSÆVSM’
Vi som älskade varandra så mycket (SE)

We’re beyond psyched to announce the welcoming of our Swedish friends in VSÆVSM. These guys work around the common denominator of the random heavy festival, and their uncompromising hardcore-take on the heavy, along with their shiver-inducing wall of noise makes them a perfect addition to Høstsabbat 2022.

Intensely emotive and harshly grandiose, VSÆVSM presents us with an epically atmospheric experience built on a foundation of constantly melodic despair.

With an energy that is deafeningly bleak yet somehow triumphant, lashings of post-hardcore/post-rock/ early 2000’s screamo blend seamlessly to create a truly unique, dynamic, and extreme cinematic impact.

Please join us in welcoming Vi som älskade varandra så mycket to this year’s lineup.

NEEDLEPOINT (NO)

Høstsabbat has never been, and never will be, a festival aiming for the biggest names or the most profiled musicians. But if you love a band, and they happen to check a couple of those boxes AND want to play your fest? What are you gonna do?

Give them the best possible welcome obviously. It might be a small step to mankind, but a positive step for us.

We are truly humbled and very proud to present this star-drizzled lineup for all you Sabbathians. Needlepoint brings us jazzy, smoothly progressive and psychedelic tapestries, woven from an impressive and meandering kaleidoscope of folk and prog -rock fusion.

Join us in the church of riffs this October and experience Needlepoint’s placid psychedelic milieu.

BISMARCK (NO)

Powerful dissonance and colossal riffs are just the tip of the iceberg when referring to our next lineup announcement.

Bismarck is a force of nature unto themselves with their uncompromising vision and pristine production quality. Meditatively provocative, Bismarck Official beautifully blend Eastern melodies, impressive vocals sometimes even bordering on the chantingly shamanic, droning guitar and low-end textures with their interpretation of western esotericism via altered states of consciousness and mystical apocalypse.

The result is gripping in atmosphere and inescapable heaviness balanced by gutting darkness and exhilarating glimpses of light through crushing intensity.

We’re thrilled to welcome Bismarck to the ranks of Høstsabbat 2022.

ÅRABROT (NO)

Sometimes a band comes along that simply defies the box of conventional classification and the power of adjectives is completely lost in the shadow of their art. Årabrot happens to be one of those bands.

Since their humble beginning, Årabrot has proven to be masters of their craft and defining themselves as a commanding presence on stage as well as a truly motivational entity for the underground scene in Norway. Their evolution has been fascinating to follow and one never knows what they will do next. What we do know, is that Årabrot will always fearlessly push boundaries, constantly moving forward, ambitiously innovative in their overall sound and their very own Church of Årabrot aesthetics.

Their astonishing progression will speak for itself, given the 8 long years since they last visited Høstsabbat. The seamless transition to having Karin Park in a now more central role results in an organic fusion of old school Årabrot-riffary and Karin’s futuristic synth-induced endeavours, and the result is nothing less than compelling.

Årabrot is a band for the future. The noise rock-gothic rock gospel of Årabrot aren’t just songs that they perform, nor are the people behind the music simply musicians- they are each art pieces unto themselves.
The Årabrot experience is a malevolent, melodic sonic macrocosm that displays transcendent power, purpose and infinite mystery.

Please welcome the church of Årabrot to our church of riffs for Høstsabbat 2022!

AGABAS (NO)

Today’s lineup announcement is Agabas who give us their own unique genre of extreme “Death Jazz;” a relentlessly pounding and profane amalgamation of death/black metal and jazz.

Evocative and melodic even with their aggressively harsh vocalization, we find undulating clarinet, pounding percussion, and even saxophone interweaved effortlessly amongst an intensely seething pit of guitar and a raging rhythm section.

Agabas forge a path through uncharted territory waging an all-out war on the convention of all four genres yet marrying them in a way that seems almost organic. The persistence of their jazzy interludes consistently cuts the tightly wound metallic atmosphere to shreds like a seething river of lava laying waste to all in its path. The flow is undeniable yet alarmingly hideous and captivating at once.

Let’s welcome Agabas and their extreme Death-Jazz machine to Høstsabbat 2022.

TICKETS
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Needlepoint, Walking Up That Valley (2021)

The fifth full-length from Oslo’s Needlepoint, Walking up That Valley, is set to release this Friday, Jan. 29, through Stickman Records. It is a graceful offering and finds the central four-piece not only indulging their own multi-instrumentalism, with vocalist/guitarist Bjørn Klakegg taking on flute, violin and cello, bassist/producer Nikolai Hængsle adding guitar, and David Wallumrød adding an entire piano-store’s worth of keys and synth to go with Olaf Olsen‘s drums, but branching out with guest percussion and backing choral vocals as well. Classically progressive — or is that progressively classical? — the album comprises eight songs and runs 43 minutes of mostly serene, jazzy and richly melodic fare, consciously drawing elements from British folk and Scandinavia’s own broad history of nature-worshiping creation. Songs like “So Far Away” or the midsection of “I Offered You the Moon” bring a gentle touch, but there’s almost always subtle movement happening underneath, be it in bass, drums, keys or guitar behind the softly-delivered vocals, and Walking up That Valley isn’t without its moments of push, it’s really just a question of how hard the band is willing to shove the listener in those stretches.

Not very, is the answer, and for Needlepoint — whose very moniker evokes images of precise, hand-crafted work — that’s clearly the intention. “Rules of a Mad Man” starts the record at a decent clip, though, and is one of the more active inclusions. Even so, what’s more striking is the level of detail in the song itself. The changes from one keyboard to another, the intricacy of the rhythmic patterning and the melody that seems to rest so naturally on top of it. Maybe this isn’t too much to ask for a band on their fifth LP, but that doesn’t make it any less engaging. “I Offered You the Moon” puts the drums forward at first for a bit of jazz-poetry and adds flourish of keys and bass, dropping to a field of flowing folk before picking up gradually again, keys and drums and percussion gaining volume and intensity over the next couple minutes until the vocals return, the bass beneath doing jabs to dare the guitar to join, which it does. It’s a freakout by the end, and it leads to the relatively subdued “Web of Worry,” with acoustic guitar and flute and keys, handclaps and ghost-note snare popping behind, sweetly melodic and a step en route to “So Far Away,” which is about as close as Walking up That Valley gets to ’60s folk, with violin joining in the second half to bolster the already organic spirit.

I’m not sure if “Where the Ocean Meets the Sky” is the start of side B, but it would make sense either way, and honestly, by then, the fluidity of Needlepoint‘s craft is such that if you’re in, you’re in for the duration. In any case, the song leads with vocals in a kind of purposeful semi-contrast from the end of “So Far Away” before it and works around a solidified drum line that takes off into a short solo with some more rhythmic urgency as it moves toward its midpoint, keys assuring the melody isn’t lost before things calm down again. Walking up That Valley never quite goes full-bebop, but one can see where Needlepoint might have in the jams these songs are built from. Vocals again begin “Carry Me Away,” free of effects but not at all dry, over a deceptively quick drum tempo building to an entry of organ and a wah-laced electric guitar solo in the second half — a bit of Hendrix to run alongside the keys. It works well and is no less classy than anything that surrounds as it leads to the arrival of the choral vocals, which feels like an arrival indeed, the lyrics depicting the scenario from the album’s cover in singalong-ready fashion. That burst of energy gives over to the penultimate “Another Day” which starts out stripped down and works its way up but never quite reaches for the same heights as the song before it, and fair enough for that, since there’s still the 10-minute closing title-track to come.

“Walking up That Valley” begins to take shape around vocal lines and spare guitar, with keys farther back in the mix and drums making their way in patiently behind the story being told, only to take a more forward role after four minutes in. An all-go jam ensues, with flute, and percussion and drums, guitar, bass, keys, and so on building to a fervent head until, a little past the nine-minute mark, the vocals return. The vitality of that jam isn’t totally gone — the drums are still there, the keys, the vocals are layered, etc. — but the final showcase of symmetry underscores the purposefulness writ large throughout Walking up That Valley, as Needlepoint cap with an electric solo on a somewhat surprisingly quick fade as though one is waking up from a dream when it’s over. I don’t doubt that there are “happy accidents” that came up during the recording process as they inevitably do, but every change/movement here feels, if not directed, then at very least considered. In its most lush and minimal stretches, Walking up That Valley shows itself to be the output of a group well aware of who they are and what they want to do, who are nonetheless not at all restrained by that self-consciousness. There is an escapist element, to be sure, but met consciously, the songs are all the more gorgeous.

You’ll find Walking up That Valley streaming in full below, followed by more from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Needlepoint is a Norwegian group based in Oslo that straddles the border between jazz and prog in a unique and timeless way. Based around the renowned guitarist Bjørn Klakegg, the band is rounded out by a veritable who’s-who of the Nordic jazz and rock scene, including members of Elephant9, Møster!, Bigbang and others.

Their first album The Woods Are Not What They Seem was released in 2010, followed by Outside the Screen (2012), Aimless Mary (2015) and The Diary of Robert Reverie (2018). Their upcoming album entitled Walking Up That Valley is slated for release in fall 2020.

The band says the following about their new record:
Nikolai and Bjørn have cooperated in the making of all the albums, from Bjørn’s ideas being captured on his phone up until their journey’s conclusion up on the record’s grooves. Bjørn considered himself a jazz musician when he first met Nikolai, but his old British heroes from the 70s such as ELP stepped out of the fog in the musical company of the now Needlepoint bassist. Olaf Olsen and David Wallumrød were Nikolai’s unconditional choices to fulfill the lineup.

Needlepoint started as an instrumental band, but when the second album was almost finished, Bjørn and Nikolai had a talk that lead to Bjørn’s first steps towards an identity as a singer. That talk also changed the identity of the band.

It was never really a conscious choice of style by the band, but Needlepoint is now considered a prog band by many listeners, and it’s a pleasure having such an addicted audience by their side. Many people mention the Canterbury Scene to describe the bands profile, and Robert Wyatt, Sid Barret, Caravan, Camel and even King Crimson and Yes are also mentioned to place our musical identity.

The last album is absolutely connected to the previous ones, but there are also new sounds to be heard. Bjørn has picked up his flute and violin, so there is a strange little orchestra appearing here and there in the album. Olaf is accompanied by Erik, who plays percussion on the album, and their fun together is audible on the album, while David treats his collection of beautiful vintage keyboard instruments like no one else. Everything is supervised by producer and bass player Nikolai Hængsle; his bass playing as powerful and brilliant as always, and Bjørn’s vocal are more present than ever in this production. In some of the tracks the band is touching new areas, but absolutely without losing its identity.

Needlepoint is:
Bjørn Klakegg : lead vocals, guitars, violin, flute, cello
David Wallumrød : hammond organ, clavinet, rhodes, harpsichord, upright piano, prophet-5, arp odyssey, arp solus, minimoog
Nikolai Hængsle : electric bass, backing vocals, guitars on «Rules of a mad man» and «So far away»
Olaf Olsen : drums

Special guests: Erik Nylander : percussion

The «Carry me away»choir: Indra Lorentzen, Camilla Brun, Maria Vatne, David, Nikolai, and Bjørn
Words and music by Bjørn Klakegg
Arranged by Bjørn Klakegg and Nikolai Hængsle
Produced by Nikolai Hængsle

Needlepoint on Thee Facebooks

Needlepoint on Bandcamp

Needlepoint website

Stickman Records on Thee Facebooks

Stickman Records website